We love this special time of year! It’s a celebration of our Savior’s birth, and a new birth to us all. We cherish the traditions and wish you the merriest Christmas of all!

This year, we thought we’d share our Christmas family photos with you–

and when they say a picture says a thousand words….they just might be right 🙂

I posted those on my personal facebook profile and had a lot of people wondering, lol. So here’s the story…

Years ago, when Tiffany was turning 8 years old, I found out that I was pregnant. In our faith, the age of baptism begins after 8 years old, so we had planned to have Tiffany baptized the same day as her twin cousin and her other cousin that was just a couple months older then them.

Since the whole family would be together, we pulled Tiffany aside and shared our news with her. We thought it would be special if she announced it during our family photo session.

So the whole family was laughing and smiling when Tiffany yelled out, “my mom’s pregnant!” The wave of surprise was so fun to be a part of.

SO fast forward 22 years.

Our son Trent, and his family recently moved to Dallas. When they asked their son if he could go anywhere for Christmas, he immediately said, “I want to go to Utah and play with my cousins.” Trent and Megan’s hearts melted, and yes, they ended up coming home for Christmas. YAY Cayden, lol! 🙂

Soon after we learned they were coming home, Tiff and I spoke at the Pinner’s Conference in SLC. As fate would have it, we stopped by the Camera Shy booth and yes, I submitted.

So I coordinated with everyone and nailed down a date and time. I had no idea that Tiffany would be going on a mad hunt, to coordinate with Camera Shy that she would be announcing her pregnancy in one of the photos.

So the big day came, and we did our photos.

It’s always fun (and a little crazy) when we all get together, so we were having a good time, but just before the 1st photo above, 3 of the workers from Camera Shy came in to “help”. Not one of us questioned what was about to happen.

And then, they yelled out, “Tiffany is pregnant!”

We ALL were shoecked. And AWED!

And of course we got emotional. It is a special time, a beautiful blessing, and something we didn’t know if her body would be able to ever do again. She’s been eating more fermented probiotic food, organic bone broth, and doing all she could to regain her health. She’s been feeling great and her joint swelling has all gone down. But we had kind of let go of that hope that she would ever conceive again. So we are beyond grateful for such a special announcement, and at such a sacred time of year, and in such a special way that none of us will ever forget.

And her little 8 year old Ashton, who had been in on the secret proudly beamed because he hadn’t told their secret to one single soul. I love the picture below as you can see how proud he felt. And I too, couldn’t have been prouder.

And as you can see in these pictures we’re sharing, a picture truly does tell a 1000 words!!

Yes, it was a very happy day!!

And that’s our story, sweet, sweet sweet.

As you celebrate this sacred season, we wish you the very best. It’s a beautiful time of birth, and rebirth, and we wish you a very merry Christmas!

We recently worked on this Silent Night Christmas video with a bunch of YouTubers, actors, and musicians. Here is a PHOTO by Scott Jarvie of Laurie, doing touch up makeup on the cute Tiffany Alvord.

It was super fun, but super touching too (you’ll know what I’m talking about as you listen to the caroling–soo so beautiful!)

When we were asked to come and do the makeup & hair for this video, we had no idea who we would be working on, and didn’t really think much of what the job would be…it was just kindof another job as far as we were concerned, but we figured we’d have fun, which we did.

But we had no idea what else we would feel on that shoot.

As everyone trickled in, we worked like crazy, running each one of them through the works. They were all so cute, and so fun, and the energy in that room was awesome. And that was just the beginning.

silent night

holy night

all is calm

all is bright

Once we got outside, the signing began…Silent Night, and A Savior is Born…and the spirit of the season was glowing brighter than we had ever expected as we witnessed these talented people sing their hearts out over and over, to door after door, on that chilly night. It was so sweet and tender as they greeted people who didn’t know they were coming. And even sweeter to see the tears, the joy, and the outpouring of love and kindness.

We hope you enjoy this video and the spirit behind it. And more than anything we hope you are filled with the peace and joy that this season brings.

I’ve kept a diary ever since I was 10 years old. If I were to write an entry for what I experienced today, it would go something like this…

DEAR DIARY…. What I learned on set today will forever change my heart. We were filming a music video – “Beautiful Heartbreak,” with Hilary Weeks, and wow. I had no idea how it would impact my life.

Hilary is possibly one of the cutest things on this planet! You know how some people just draw you in and you feel an instant connection–sort of like long lost soul mates or something? Yeah. Well that was Hilary all the way. I seriously fell in love with her and felt so blessed that our paths could connect.

I try not to follow any celebrities at all. I purposely know nothing about any of them so that when I work with them I’m not dying of awkwardness. But it’s not just me, I feel like I owe it to them to give them a safe place, where they can share what they want, be who they are, and be loved and accepted for who they are instead of for what they’ve done.

So, for me, I never knew Hilary Weeks, or her music at all, and had no expectations at when we did our first shoot together (the cover above). But she is truly a person who shares her heart and really means it. And she is one of the most positive people I’ve ever met too.

So yes, the cover shoot was a wonderful experience and a lot of fun to work on and when they called me back about doing the music video with her, I was happy to clear my calendar to make it happen. And I guess that time I knew her and had expectations, but I had no idea the effect this “job” would have upon me.

There’s so much more to share…but first, here is the finished video. I know you’re going to love it:

On Set, Beautiful Heartbreak, with Hilary Weeks

You know how some experiences sink so deeply into your heart that you hope they’ll never leave? Today’s shoot did that for me, on so many levels…. and I can’t stop thinking about it–

Today started out like any other day. I prepped my gear and loaded my car and headed up to a beautiful mountain location. I was afraid it might be cold, so I wore long layers and Uggs (big mistake, lol) Let’s just say it got hot!

Here are some pictures as we were getting Hilary ready….

Her cute hairstylist’s name is Dani–so adorable! I met Dani when we worked together on Every Step, so by now we were old friends, ha! 🙂

We laughed and gabbed about silly girly things as we tortured her with glamour and glitz.

One random conversation we had was…”What do you say to someone who’s struggling?” Hilary’s thought was to just talk about your feelings, rather than to try to advise or anything. I totally don’t know why our conversation went there, but her words would come back to me in a few hours time….

Touch-ups just before stepping on set, cute Kim, Hilary, Dani and me (hiding under my big hat, of course 🙂

I have to admit, this was the first time I had heard Hilary sing or play. So when she played and sang on that hillside today, something very magnetic happened to everyone there. It was spectacular. And then,

I listened to the words. Oh gosh.

“Beautiful Heartbreak” was written by Hilary and Tyler Castleton. It was beyond touching. It was about the painful struggle of a heartbreak, then realizing the struggle was actually a beautiful gift. It’s really a powerful song and I was moved to tears repeatedly throughout the day.

Then extras started showing up. The extras for this shoot weren’t handpicked at all, just random invites. I think we had around 20-30 altogether.

After the extras got there, the director asked them to take one of the blank poster boards (above) and write a heartbreak in their lives that they had overcome.

I started walking through the group and found a few featured extras to touch up. As I did, I looked at their boards and could hardly say a word.

“Share your feelings” came back to me and I quietly asked a few questions about their experiences. As we talked, I couldn’t help but feel a special bond toward each person there. I just shared my feelings about those heartbreaks and walked away. I didn’t know a heart could be so full. Those people had been total strangers to me just a few minutes earlier. I was touched by their attitudes, their strength and sweet honesty.

Next, we lined them up in front of the cameras and tender feelings overwhelmed me once again. I saw each of these people holding their trials for the world to see. Each of their trials were huge.

I think that is what shocked me the most. How is it that each of those random extras could have suffered so much heartache? The death of a child, a parent, a sibling, cancer, a burn victim, two beautiful teenage girls who had lost their dad in an airplane accident, and so much more. It was pretty heart wrenching to think of the struggles they each had endured.

These “strangers”wove a place in my heart. Then it hit me how everywhere we go, people are dealing with hard struggles of every kind, and we just don’t know it. We’re all in this together, but we don’t see it.

What if people carried signs all the time? Would we suddenly see them as real people with real pain and real agony? Suddenly we would know no strangers. We would let so many more people into our lives and learn and grow so much more, right? I think we would have so much more compassion and feel so much more love in our hearts. And all the “little things” that weigh us down wouldn’t have so much power over us. We’d see the big picture so much more clearly.

I’m so grateful for this day and for the powerful realizations that came with it.

During the shoot, a woman passed out, and smack her head on a concrete driveway. The paramedics came and it was intense. We were all worried, but I could see Hilary agonize over the comfort and safety of this woman. It turned out to be okay, but it’s those stressful moments that bring out what lies within a person’s heart. Hilary’s is obviously full of compassion. I love that girl to pieces! I love working with her, and feel really inspired by her presence.

I loved today’s crew, loved my girls (Dani & Kim) loved our extras, and everything. If there ever was a real Groundhog day, this is the one I would choose! What I learned on set today will forever change my heart

Please share your comments if you can–we love to hear from you, in fact, I’d also love to hear of your own trials and triumphs! love you guys–you’re awesome!!!

PIN IT

Sometimes life’s lessons suck.

And sadly, that’s just life, BUT we’ve found that life goes better when we make the best out of things and find room for laughter every single day.

And that’s HUGE.

I was invited to do a shoot at the top of Mount Timpanogus. It’s over 11,000 feet high and the hike up is rated extremely difficult. The plans were to ride horses up until it was too steep, and then to climb the last mile without them. We would shoot, eat, camp, and shoot again in the sunrise, and then hike all the way down by foot.

Luckiy, I had just done a shoot for Wolverine boots recently, and they gave me some free hiking boots, so I knew this Timp job was meant to be! Here are some shots of that shoot:

So I started hiking in the hills behind our home every day that I could, at least 3-4 miles, to break in my boots, get used to uneven footing, climbing, everything. I was genuinely excited.

I bought some more gear, and put together a small complete makeup kit that would work best for this shoot.

I packed and I was all ready to go.

And then…

it got cancelled-nooooooooooo!!!!

gulp.

I have to admit, I was sad.

But as the time grew closer to the time we had been scheduled to go, the biggest rain and thunder storm pelted that mountain and the entire valley below. It was one of the biggest storms I’ve seen in a while and I realized. I could’ve been up on those slippery slopes and slapped with a jolt of thunder that would easily spook any horse. I really think I was protected, and as the raindrops increased and the storm brewed on and on, throughout the entire night, I became so very grateful.

Then last night, when I melted into my soft cushy bed, I knew that I had been blessed. I was so grateful that I wasn’t on top of that mountain, freezing and soaked, sore, or broken.

I honestly hope that the shoot will resurface, but that the weather will be much more agreeable, and that it won’t be as big of a risk as it would’ve been had we stuck with our original plans and headed up at 4pm last night on horses. (And the truth is, I’ve only been on horses about 5 times in my entire life–eek!)

SO I like to look at the lessons I learn along the way, and I think the most powerful lesson I gained from this experience was to find the window of gratitude amongst the disappointment. Life doesn’t go as we plan, ever, and it won’t. But we can look at what life gives us and find a way to glory in the journey….that is what can make it beautiful, exciting, and even more wonderful than our wildest dreams.

It kinda sucks when you really like something that you know isn’t the best for you, and believe me, we’ve been there too–many times. And in our line of work, performance is really key or we really can’t do our work well.

Back in the day, when we started this website and our youtube channel, we spent so much money on safe and natural products that we didn’t optimal results out of. But we kept on going, and going, and hoping and praying, jk, lol. But seriously, we were concerned and really needed better, safer replacements. But one by one, they keep rolling out. So when we found this new pressed powder that works like a charm, we knew we would have to share!

S0, do you like MAC Blot Powder? Then you’ll LOVE this SAFE replacement!

We hope this video will help inspire you to know there IS something better, way better, than MAC Blot powder, and it also happens to be loaded with nutrients that your skin can love.

Yes, FINALLY, we’ve found a perfect replacement that will help nourish and replenish the skin, rather than to fill it with toxins-grrr!

AND btw, in the US, the FTC wants us to disclose if we have an affiliation with a product we show. We want you (and them) to know that we personally pick the products we choose to share with you. We turn down good offers all the time to promote products that are sub-standard, because we care about what we share with you guys. This IS a product I purchased myself, and fell in love with. I’ve used it on a feature, and several commercial and print shoots since it came out, and have nothing but good to say about the product and the way it performs. So I guess that’s that.

So yeah, please COMMENT and let us know what else you like that you want a great replacement for!!!!

FrIdAy FuN & FeElInGs…

Ok, let’s talk.

Why do you think some people seem to be more happy than others?
Here are some of my thoughts…

For some crazy reason, we see ourselves differently than everyone else does. Somehow we look at them and see the beauty, the perfection, everything that’s right. Then when we look into the mirror, the first thing we see are the zits, the scars, and of course the flaws.

Once, when I was on a film shoot in a tiny village in Malawi Africa, one of my powder compacts dropped to the ground and all of the powder crumbled. I was about to toss it when I remembered the mirror inside which was still in perfect condition. So I took it back to my hotel room that night and cleaned the compact until it was nice and shiny. Then I tucked it into my makeup belt to give away.

The next day we were shooting in a cornfield when I noticed 4 girls watching us. I thought about my compact and walked over to them. I smiled and they giggled back, their faces beaming brightly, something that appeared to come naturally. Then I tucked a hand inside my makeup belt and drew out that shiny empty compact.

They looked at it, very unsure of what I was holding.

I handed it toward them and they pulled away, their faces filling with a hint of fear. So I opened the compact and showed them the mirror. They looked at it, puzzled, then one by one, they started recognizing one another in that little mirror. They pointed at the glass and then pointed at a collar or at a tattered shirt and they lit up with laughter.

I think I just stood there, stunned. These girls had never seen their own reflections. It struck hard. I reached toward them with the compact and handed it to the girl closest to me. “Here, it’s for you” I whispered. Her eyes caught mine and immediately rimmed with tears. I could feel mine start to do the same. Hers appeared to be tears of gratitude, mine stung with humility as I could see her thankfulness for something so very little. She was touched deeply, and so was I.

In retrospect, it was such a small token, in fact, it wasn’t even a legitimate gift–I gave her my garbage and she was thrilled. My heart swelled with the most awesome crimson warmth.

I’m not holding myself out to be a perfect example of someone who gives and always does good, I wish I was, but for that moment, I felt that surge of glee that comes when you touch a life. I actually wish I could say that I gave her something much better, but unfortunately I didn’t…in fact I hope the “gift” I gave her hasn’t changed her life in a negative way…could it affect the way she perceives the world now because she can now see herself ? I really hope not, I really truly hope not. I hope it was more about the kindness of a stranger. I know for me, it helped me to not see myself at all, at least for those moments, “I” was definitely not on my mind. And how sweet that was. And those feelings brought a current of happiness from way down deep.

Now back to my point. I believe that when we desire to do good, our hearts change. When we focus on others and desire to help them, we can’t help but forget ourselves, our “needs” wants, shortcomings, etc. and at that point, we feel something beyond (the often fleeting feeling of) happiness. We feel an abundance of joy, which is lasting, pure, and becomes a part of our nature. I think the ultimate key is understanding the desires of our heart.

So when we see those people who constantly beam with happiness, it may not be because everything in their life is running smoothly at all, in fact, it more than likely isn’t. I think those people have learned the greater feeling of joy, which is something regulated by the heart, the spirit.

My niece, Brittany, is in the Philippians right now, helping to rebuild from the hurricane damage. She took this PHOTO, which I loved. To follow her 3 month journey and to feel inspired, head over to Life of a Wanderous Mind

I’d love your feedback on this…and I want to give you an assignment:

Right now, stop for one moment, and tap into the desires of your heart. If they are wants or “things”, steer past them to the people in your life. What can you do to make their lives happier? What can you say? How can you treat them today? What can you do right now to step outside of yourself and move your focus to others?

Do something every day to touch a life, but don’t expect anything in return. Just savor the peace of lifting another’s burdon.

Write down your feelings, it doesn’t have to be long, just from the heart.

Place it in you calendar and set up reminders every day. (I use an app that is a daily journal, it also sends me reminders every day. 🙂

My challenge is to do this every day for 1 week. Then come back here and please share how that one little exercise worked for you, what you learned, fears you overcame and how you felt.

I believe that you will be a happier person in one week if you can take the time to do this…and I can’t wait to hear back!!

xo

Laurie & Tiffany

http://naturesknockout.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NK-natures-knockout-LOGO.jpg00Natural Tips to change your life!http://naturesknockout.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NK-natures-knockout-LOGO.jpgNatural Tips to change your life!2014-05-30 10:00:002014-10-03 21:28:24Happiness and How to Be More Happy...

My heart is just swelling as I think about what I want to share today…so many thoughts, experiences, and so much to say. But I think I’ve truly witnessed a HUGE Secret to Happiness & why it matters!

While I was working on a movie in Africa, we roamed through the poorest little villages of Kenya, and met so many incredible people. I felt the deepest compassion come over me…

Most of them had clothing that was worn, tattered, and thrashed. They were filthy, and honestly, they (ok I’m having a hard tiime saying this, but the truth is they stunk.) Now I’ve said it, but none of those outward things made me hate them, no, not one. In fact, they had the opposite effect on every one of us. In spite of the sickness, starvation, and all of their hardships, we were overcome with their beautiful smiles.

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Denis Waitley

In Kenya and Malawi, smiles were everywhere, even amidst the obvious pain and hardships. I remember seeing 2 young girls beaming as they ran through a field with mice they had just caught for their dinner. But when we went on to Adas Ababa Ethiopia, the smiles seemed to dissolve. Faces were etched with pain and sadness. We even had several people who begged us to take them back to the States.

At first I didn’t understand how there could be such a distinct difference in these people and all of the Villagers we had just seen.

But after a while, it started to become more clear. Everywhere I looked, I noticed crude little huts, slightly larger than a refrigerator box. On top of each little hut stood a TV antenna. It hit like a brick to the chest…could the difference be that these people had TV, so in essence, they knew what they didn’t have? My heart sunk.

I think the difference in their countennances came from their perceptions of their world. In Kenya and Malawi, they were satisfied and even grateful for their lives, no matter how simple. They were content and happy. But for the Ethiopians, they knew what they didn’t have and longed for a different existence.

So of course there’s a moral, and I believe that when we look through eyes of gratitude, great things happen in our lives. Even the simple things we tend to overlook…running water, kindness, a smile, the freedom to pray.

It may not change our circumstance or difficulties, but instead makes them bearable and an important step to feeling fulfilled and happy. That’s it. When we stop looking at what we don’t have and pacifying our “wants” everything changes for the better. Plain and simple, gratitude changes everything, most of all, our hearts.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” Melody Beattie

We appreciate your comments and love your insights, please share and have a GREAT and HAPPY weekend!!